God Will Provide

My church family has heard me pray many times, “Thank You, Father, for who You are, and the way You work in our lives.” At the local Super Center, He showed Himself to be my Provider when I took Earl’s car in for an oil change.

After being assured they had the right oil for the change, I left the car to buy groceries during my wait. When I returned, the car wasn’t ready.

“Mrs. Winn, there’s a problem. We don’t have enough of your brand of oil to finish it.”

“And I imagine you’ve already drained all the oil out of my car,” I responded.

“Yes, Ma’am,” he said.

“What are my options now?” I asked hoping he would respond by getting it from his supplier.

Instead, he shrugged, tugged at his shirt, and said, “I dunno.”

When his what-do-I-do-now mode kicked in, he called the manager.

I felt like the cavalry had arrived with a knight in shining armor leading the charge when the manager showed up. It was Jeremy, a friend from church, ready to have his metal tested.

Jeremy didn’t know it was my car in question, and he didn’t see me sitting in the waiting area. He walked straight to the oil changer in a problem-solving mode.

When they began double-checking the stock, I joined them because this was not the first time they had drained my oil without having enough to replace it. The same thing happened a year before, and I had not been back. But in an effort to consolidate my do-list, I opted for the convenience of one-stop-shopping. That attempt to save time cost three hours of waiting.

Not finding my brand of oil on the shelves, Jeremy asked me what I wanted to do.

I began by blubbering, “This is Earl’s car and…”

That’s all I said before Jeremy went into action.

“We’ll take care of it; and I promise you this will never happen again. This is NOT good customer service!”

Jeremy went to his supplier, got the right oil, and gave me a free oil change. But more important for me was Jeremy’s sensing my moment of weakness and taking charge in my behalf. He was in the right place at the right time to bring life to the verses that say, “God will supply all your needs;” and, “Whatever you’ve done for the least of these, you’ve done for Me.”

Situations like this don’t happen by chance. They are arranged. Perhaps to remind me, “Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

Or perhaps to correct a problem in the Super Center’s automotive procedures like, “Check the stock before you drain the oil.”

Or perhaps God was simply testing Jeremy.

I don’t know. But what I do know is that Jeremy was available to be used by God; and in the process, he came through for me in a time of need.